Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a central nervous system- (CNS-) related disorder for which there is yet no successful treatment.\nWithin the past several years, cell-based therapies have been explored for SCI repair, including the use of pluripotent human\nstem cells, and a number of adult-derived stem and mature cells such as mesenchymal stem cells, olfactory ensheathing cells,\nand Schwann cells. Although promising, cell transplantation is often overturned by the poor cell survival in the treatment\nof spinal cord injuries. Alternatively, the therapeutic role of different cells has been used in tissue engineering approaches by\nengrafting cells with biomaterials. The latter have the advantages of physically mimicking the CNS tissue, while promoting a more\npermissive environment for cell survival, growth, and differentiation. The roles of both cell- and biomaterial-based therapies as\nsingle therapeutic approaches for SCI repair will be discussed in this review.Moreover, as the multifactorial inhibitory environment\nof a SCI suggests that combinatorial approaches would be more effective, the importance of using biomaterials as cell carriers will\nbe herein highlighted, as well as the recent advances and achievements of these promising tools for neural tissue regeneration.
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